LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) - Bob Stupak, a colorful gambler and the developer of the 1,149-foot Stratosphere tower on the Las Vegas Strip, died Friday at a hospital after a long fight with leukemia. He was 67.

A spokeswoman for Stupak's family said Friday that the casino entrepreneur died Friday afternoon at Desert Springs Hospital in Las Vegas.

Stupak, known for outlandish promotions, opened the $550 million Stratosphere hotel-casino in 1996 in hopes that the tower would attract millions of visitors to Sin City. The tower was conceived in 1990 as a way to promote the Stratosphere's predecessor, Stupak's Vegas World casino.

The Stratosphere filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and was eventually taken over by billionaire investor Carl Icahn.

Born in Pittsburgh in 1942, Stupak moved to Las Vegas in 1971 and in 1974 opened Bob Stupak's World Famous Historic Gambling Museum at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue.

Stupak, who called himself the "Polish Maverick" was officially named "Mr. Las Vegas" in 1996 by then-mayor Jan Jones. He once bet $1 million on the Super Bowl and won, taking the Cincinnati Bengals in 1989. The Bengals lost the game 20-16 to the San Francisco 49ers, but San Francisco failed to cover the seven point spread.